

With a flood of colorways and new silhouettes, adidas’ Yeezy partnership remains among the most popular sneaker collaborations in the world. West’s Yeezy line-starting with the Yeezy Boost 750 and followed by the still popular Yeezy Boost 350-has been steadily growing for years. After a public falling out with his partners at Nike, Kanye West signed a deal with adidas. In 2013, announced what would become its biggest partnership yet: Yeezy. Teaming up with designers like Yohji Yamamoto and Stella McCartney proved to be mutually beneficial successes. While it’s now commonplace for major sportswear companies to team up with high fashion designers and brands for collaborations, adidas was ahead of the curve. The brand realized if they weren’t going to dominate on the court, they would have to off it. Though the brand would come to regret not signing NBA superstar Michael Jordan when it had the chance, adidas still held a solid portion of the basketball sneaker market, signing all star players such as Dikembe Mutombo and Kobe Bryant to signature deals.Īlthough adidas was still a major player in sportswear, Jordan-mania took over the world and put Nike on top, placing the “Brand with the Three Stripes” firmly in second place in the minds of many consumers. A ringing endorsement via Run-DMC’s song “My adidas” took the German brand to new heights, especially within urban communities across America.

While adidas released the Superstar as a basketball shoe in 1970, its popularity on the streets helped it become a classic. He (and his shoes) have been icons since. The German company renamed the shoe after it’s new star athlete, Stan Smith. Under the leadership of Adi’s son Horst Dassler, adidas made the first leather tennis shoe for French tennis star Robert Haillet in the 65 but by the time the sport was skyrocketing in popularity, Haillet was in his twilight years.

The 1970s ushered in a new era in sports, one where tennis was quickly picking up steam and growing in popularity. The ’60s saw the release of two more classic adidas items: the Gazelle (another popular indoor soccer sneaker) and what may be the most iconic piece of Three Stripes apparel: the tracksuit. The Samba’s simple design and lightweight feel made it an instant success to this day it is one of the most popular indoor soccer shoes and an adidas best seller. In 1947, the brothers officially split apart, as Rudolf started a new company RuDa (which later became Puma) and Adi started adidas.Īfter acquiring what would become its trademark “Three Stripes” logo from Finnish sportswear brand Karhu in 1949, adidas hit the ground running with the introduction of the Samba. During the war, a rift formed between the Dassler brothers when Rudolf thought Adi had reported him to the Allied Forces as a member of the Waffen SS. The company enjoyed a successful first 15 years until the beginning of World War II in 1939. In 1924, Adolf, also known as “Adi”, and Rudolf Dassler established the Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory in Herzogenaurach, Germany.
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Although the two massively successful sportswear brands are completely independent of one another, it is impossible to tell the full story of adidas or Puma without mention of the other.
